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My next door neighbour Jo has, for some reason I will never understand, given up flour, sugar and butter for lent. Insanity!

I didn’t really like the idea of going 40 days without taking her any baked goods, so when I saw these German chocolate fudge bites on Chocolate Covered Katie I knew instantly they would have to be made for Jo.

As well as being free of pretty much everything bad for you, they’re also incredible quick and easy to make, and use just four ingredients (possibly four of my favourite ingredients) AND are only 50 calories each!

Put all the ingredients into a food processor and blitz until everything is well-chopped and well-mixed. Transfer the mixture into a bowl and knead until it comes together. Roll out 15 small truffle-sized balls, and chill in the fridge for half an hour. Roll each bite in more cocoa powder before serving.

There’s nothing fancy about this cake, just a dark, dense, chocolate sponge with a hint of sticky toffee-ness about it, balanced by a not-too-sweet ganache.

One person did comment that he wasn’t sure if it was sweet enough, but the pony and I both agreed it was just right.

This cake also kept really well, possibly even improving with age – the perfect accompaniment to an afternoon cup of coffee, but equally at home as an after dinner desert – I would seriously recommend you all go and make this cake!

Soak the dates in the coffee for about 10 minutes, while you prepare a 9″ round cake tin by lining and greasing and start making the sponge. Beat together the butter and both sugars until light and creamy, then beat in the eggs and vanilla. Sift in the flour, baking powder and cocoa powder and fold until just combined. Puree the date and coffee mixture in a food processor, then fold that into the mix as well. Pour into the tin, then bake at 175 degrees for an hour, or until the cake is springy and pulling away from the sides of the tin.

While the cake is cooling, make the ganache by heating the cream in a saucepan until just boiling, then pouring on top of the chopped chocolate, and stirring until smooth. When the ganache and cake have both cooled, spread the ganache on top of the cake then leave to set. Cut into small slices and serve!